APPEARS
by mistressinwaiting
Summary: -In which, Hinata sees Naruto all alone at the ramen stand.


-In which, Hinata sees Naruto all alone at the ramen stand.

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**Yay! My 1st oneshot! In all, this is my 14th fanfic! And like some of my other fanfictions, this one is named after one of Ayumi Hamasaki's songs. I hope you guys like it!**

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❤❀~Appears~❀❤

It was a nice sunny day. Hyuga Hinata had just finished her training and was now strolling the streets of Konoha. Now at age twenty-three, she was one of the most respected kunoichi in the village. As the villagers bowed their heads in respect to the Hyuga, Hinata couldn't help but feel a bit sadden. She had reached one of her goals, but she hadn't reached the other, and that was to win Uzumaki Naruto's heart. When Pein had attacked Konoha, she had confessed her love to Naruto but, so far, he hadn't answered back.

Hinata sighed at the thought. Perhaps he just didn't want to hurt her feelings by telling her that he didn't love her in that way. Or perhaps, with him being Naruto, he had just forgotten about her confession. But right now, Hinata sincerely hoped it was the latter.

Her eyes widened when she looked up. _Isn't that Naruto-kun?_

And indeed, her observation was correct. There Naruto sat at Ichiraku's ramen stand. A closer look at him told her something was wrong, and so she walked over.

"H-Hello, Naruto-kun." she greeted him, but he seemed shocked by her appearance.

"Oh… Hey, Hinata-chan…" He smiled, but Hinata could tell it was a forced one.

And then he looked back down at his ramen bowl, his _untouched_ ramen bowl. Immediately, Hinata knew something was _definitely_ wrong. Naruto would _never_ leave his ramen unfinished, but here he was, not even taking a _bite_ out of his favorite food.

"Na-Naruto-kun, is something wrong?"

But he didn't answer her. Instead, he just slid an envelope towards her.

Hinata found the gesture strange, but she assumed he wanted her to read the letter inside. And from the looks of it, it was from Sakura and Sasuke (mainly Sakura).

_Hey, Naruto! How are ya? We're just fine, if you're going to ask. And . . . we're sorry to say, but we're a bit delayed . . . again. Sorry, but it looks like we won't be back in the village for at least another month or so. Sorry, again. Love, your best friends._

Hinata just stared at the letter. She almost had the urge to roll her eyes. Sakura had married Sasuke about four months ago, a marriage which was followed by a month-long honeymoon, but the honeymoon had already been prolonged _twice_ already. Now it's to be extended _again_? Just exactly what were those two doing?

"Do you think they're happy just by themselves?"

Hinata stared at Naruto now.

"Maybe they're just trying to avoid me, trying to forget me."

"No!" Hinata argued. "That's not true! They're your friends, Naruto-kun!"

He let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, I guess so… But I wish they'd come home sooner…"

_So that's it…_

"I miss them…"

_He's lonely…_

He sighed, and it was silence between the two. Hinata bit her bottom lip. Though she was twenty-three now, she still hadn't grown out of her shyness. She still fidgeted her fingers, and she stuttered most of the time.

She took a deep breath. "If . . . if you need someone to be with you, Naruto-kun," she started saying, "then . . . you can always come to me." There she said it. She opened her eyes to find him looking at her with widened eyes.

"What do you mean, Hinata-chan?

She took another breath before continuing. "If . . . if you need someone to train with you, I'll be willing to help you. If you need someone to accompany you for lunch or dinner, I'll free up my time for you. And . . . if you just need someone to talk to, I—"

But she was unable to finish. Naruto threw her into a tight bear hug.

"Thanks, Hinata-chan! You know, I really like people like you!"

And it would seem that, at the age of twenty-three, Hinata could still faint from Naruto's touch.

✿｡.:***A Month Later***:.｡✿

"It's so good to be home!"

"Well, we would've be back sooner if _you_ hadn't insisted on buying so many presents and insisting on finding every single exotic flavor of ramen!"

"Oh, come on, Sasuke-kun. They're for a good cause."

"How is giving Naruto a whole year's supply of ramen a good cause? The dobe would probably finish it in less than a week."

"Oh, stop being a party-pooper. I had to make it up to him for extending our honeymoon three times. Plus, you know how he reacted to Ino being pregnant with Sai's kid and how he reacted to Temari having Shikamaru's kid. When we tell him the good news, I want to make sure he wakes up quicker."

The Uchiha sighed. "Yes, I know _that_, but did you have to buy him and Hinata _wedding_ gifts? They're not even dating yet."

"Hey, don't look down on a girl's sixth sense! I _know_ they'll get married soon!"

And it turned out Sakura's assumption/prediction was correct. Hinata and Naruto's wedding happened in less than a month but not before Hiashi had chased Naruto through the whole village, screaming profanities at the jinchūriki. Why, you ask? Well, the explanation's simple. With Naruto and Hinata, it was the pregnancy that came before the marriage.

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**Well, how did you guys like it? Please tell me in your reviews!**


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